OMG Horror

Dimension Films, writer/director John Landis has confirmed, has attained the rights to remake the 1981 comedic horror favorite The American Werewolf in London. Aside from being an exemplary fusion of horror and comedy, Landis’ film proved historic as it was the first film that the AMPAS recognized in an official category for Best Makeup (for make-up/effects maven Rick Baker). Whether or not the film will be set in the titular city of London or be relocated to another site (as in the ill-fated American Werewolf in Paris) is yet to be known. And it seems Landis has few qualms if any, essentially using this as an apt advert for his blu-ray edition of the original due out this summer. “I was afraid the digital cleaning of the negative would result in too clear a picture and hurt Baker’s makup, when in fact the incredibly crisp detail makes Rick’s stuff look even better” He adds about the idea of a new version, “perhaps someone will make a brilliant movie out of it.” Of course we have our doubts of remaking any horror classic, but we’ll reserve critique until later, like when we know who is cast. Stay tuned.

After some well spent time exploring the depths of Italian giallo cinema, we’re pretty enthralled to spend a June in France.  That’s right, this time out for Foreign Fear Friday we’re bestowing a little love to a contemporary horror filmmaker, one Alexandre Aja.  Born in Paris on August 7, 1978 – the 30 year old writer/director was born into a family of film enthusiasts.  His father, Alexandre Arcady, is (still) a director of such French Nationalist films known as pied-noir (mainly subjected upon French invasion/colonialism in Algeria).  Aja’s mother, Marie Jo-Jouan, is/was a well known French film critic, so it comes as no real surprise that Aja would foster such an interest in the craft from an early age.  In fact, even his wife, Laila Marrakchi, is a Moroccan filmmaker with a handful of flicks under her belt (a few shorts and a full feature, albeit non-horror).  As you can see, it’s no real wonder why Aja became a Cannes Golden Palm Award winner for his short film Over the Rainbow at age 18.
 

Well, another month means another free horror movie to watch in its entirety.  That's right, this time for Murder Movie Monday we've turned to the silly, bloody, ham fisted 1980 creature feature Alligator.  For those in the know not, Alligator spins one of those age old yarns about a ferocious prehistoric predator (alligator) lurking in a metropolitan sewer for fresh blood.  So which metropolis is in question? You guessed it: Chicago.  Yup, when a vicious alligator is released into the subterranean tunnels of Chi town, all kinds of hell is unbuckled.  Directed by Lewis Teague (who would go on to direct Cujo and Cat's Eye) from a John Sayles script (Piranha, The Howling), a fine pedigree is in place here to cull enough scares and laughs to keep one thoroughly entertained.  So without further chattering, we present to you, uncut, in all its glory, a look at Alligator.  Enjoy! 

A week or so ago we reported that Robert Rodriguez was set to overtake the Predator franchise in a new installment harking back to its roots entitled Predators.  Well, word is that Rodriguez has handed the directorial reins over to Neil Marshall, the man behind such exceptional genre fare as Dog Soldiers, The Descent and Doomsday.  Deals are still pending, so nothing is yet official, but if there's one filmmaker out there today who can handle sprawling, high energy outdoor type of horror it's Marshall.  It's also understood that after a semi-ephemeral crossover attempt, the franchise will recall the Predators origin and lose the whole intergalactic battle with Aliens.  The worth is in the wait, it seems.  Keep posted!

Fangoria reveals that Eli Roth, the director of Cabin Fever, Hostel, and Hostel: Part II, is planning on remaking Tobe Hooper's 1981 horror flick The Funhouse. Hooper is best known for directing the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but The Funhouse is definitely an underrated popcorn flick that fans of 80s horror cheese should check out if they haven't seen it (it was also featured as one of Frog Baby's Underrated Picks of the Month).

The original The Funhouse is about a group of teens who spend the night in a rather crusty carnival run by degenerates and a deformed Elephant Man-esque freak who wears a Frankenstein mask.

The Funhouse is a lot of fun and if anyone can do the material justice with a remake, it's Roth.

WIth a staggering 60 or so horror titles slated for remake, original horror films are a rare and dying breed.  Sam Raimi managed to mine another unique gem in Drag Me to Hell, but not many high profile widely released horror is anything but derivative and/or flat out cribbed.  Well, genre legend Wes Craven, who has his own original film (25/8) set for a roiled 2009 theater date, is now going back to the well by overseeing a whole new trilogy of Scream films.  Writer Kevin Williamson (who inked all three Scream films) is set to reprise his duties, and the word is both David Arquette and Courtney Cox Arquette are also onboard.  As Craven himself divulges: "I've been told the deals on David Arquette and Courtney are virtually set.  I believe everybody else will be new."  Wow, no Neve? Wait, is she still even acting?  Oh well, maybe they'll bring Parker Posey back from part 3.  

Actor Tobin Bell, who played the Jigsaw Killer in every Saw film to date, mentioned Saw VII last week during a E3 2009 press conference for the upcoming Saw video game. Bell referred to a seventh Saw movie when talking about how his son was more impressed that his father is involved in a new video game (Saw: The Video Game) than the movies in the Saw series.

What’s up y’all, Frog Baby in the house!  Thought we’d miss our latest underrated pick of the month? Nope.  This time out I’ve got my bugged eyes on the slow burning 1981 slasher classic Happy Birthday to Me.  For those who study the subgenre, you know 1980-1981 was a time in horror cinema rife with explicit carnage and unbridled bloodletting.  It took the Reagan administration a few years to get a stranglehold on artistic vision and doing away with mass violence and its graphic depiction.  The MPAA was complicit in those following years of course, but prior to that we got films like Maniac, Friday the 13^th, The Burning, The Prolwer, etc., etc. that were all brutal films in their own right, some more than others.  And yet it is the twisty, slow developing slasher whodunit Happy Birthday to Me that often goes overlooked, lost in the shuffle of hundreds of knockoffs and cheap imitations.  It’s a shame, because Birthday is a real gift!

With the much anticipated return of Sam Raimi to the genre that put him on the cinematic map as a true visionary, we’re delighted to include the man in our segment of non-horror movies from we admire from horror directors.  Sure, roughly half of Raimi’s directorial work has fallen under the horror heading, including his latest delve into the macabre, Drag Me to Hell (which opens in two days, look out for our review soon).  But believe it or not, Raimi has more than enough chops to cross-over and make films out of his so called comfort zone.  He’s done action sci-fi (Darkman), a tongue-in-cheek western (The Quick and the Dead), a romantic sports drama (For Love of the Game) and of course, epic-in-scope superhero blockbusters (Spiderman 1-3).  The man truly knows no limits as a filmmaker, often writing and acting in a lot of his own work, not to mention the ungodly spate of producing credits he’s accrued over the years.  But it’s one film in particular that we’ve always found iniquitously underrated, and that’s the 1998 Fargo-esque crime-thriller A Simple Plan.